Ryanair’s Malta Air to fly to Bordeaux, Parma, Tel Aviv, Zagreb and Lourdes

Low-cost giant Ryanair has announced its biggest ever Malta schedule, with six aircraft throughout summer to increase seat-load, and burn 16% less fuel and 40% less noise emissions with two Boeing 737 8-200 “Gamechanger” aircraft.

Ryanair will operate over 190 weekly flights, 60 more over 2019, to destinations in Italy, Spain and France, with 62 routes and nine new routes to Bordeaux, Bucharest, Lourdes, Milan Malpensa, Parma, Shannon, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, and Zagreb.

“Maltese customers and visitors can now book a well-deserved summer getaway at the lowest fares from just €19.99 one-way for travel until October 2022, only available on the Ryanair.com website,” said David O’Brien, CEO of Ryanair’s Malta Air and Lauda Europe.

“As both Europe and Malta’s biggest airline, Ryanair is delighted to announce our record-breaking Malta schedule operated by six based Malta aircraft, at $600 million total investment, two of which will be Boeing 737 8-200 Gamechanger aircraft.”

The €600 million investment supports 180 aviation jobs and over 2,300 indirect jobs, O’Brien said.

O’Brien said the airline projects to carry 3.1 million passengers yearly by 2023 to and from Malta. He said the airline had a strong balance sheet, with a B+ rating from Fitch and S&P. “Despite not receiving any state aid, like our competitors, we only let go of less than 500 employees,” O’Brien said. 

He also described Ryanair’s subsidiary, Malta Air, as a success. “It was ultimately a game-changer and it the flag carrier of Malta. We want to fly efficiently and safely. We have been doing that since its inception.”

O’Brien promised that ticket prices would remain stable, despite the Russian invasion causing a ripple effect on fuel prices. He mentioned that Ryanair had an 80% fuel hedging agreement until March 23 at $65 per barrel.

Asked about the remaining 20% whether the increase in fuel prices would affect the ricket prices, O’Brien said, “It’s a hard pill to swallow. We would have to make up for it through prices but ultimately, it’s the customers that dictate them.”

O’Brien stressed that the environment was a priority for the airline, saying that Ryanair had received a B climate rating. “We fly with a 96% seat capacity and have the youngest fleet in Europe. We have significant environmental targets and we want to do even better.” 

He criticised the EU for the environmental tax system which he argued put Ryanair at a disadvantage in comparison to its competitors. 

Charles Pace, Director General for Civil Aviation at Transport Malta said, “It is noted with great satisfaction the growth in activity and increased capacity of the group in and out of Malta. As an island state connectivity is extremely important for us and we hope to see more routes and more seats available.” 

With regards to the COVID-19 restrictions, Pace said, “the last thing I want is long queues at the airport, as that is a safety concern. Why can’t the passengers just go through the terminal when 93% of the population is boosted? It is a great concern at the airport during the peak summer period. I would personally agree that we should revisit the rules but there should at least be more dialogue before decisions are taken.”

O’Brien said Malta had done a good job on the pandemic “but it should be careful that it does not put itself at a disadvantage by introducing rules which are too restrictive.”